Background

Standards-based education provides a structured approach for state adult education agencies and local programs to create a system that explicitly links standards, assessments, and instructional delivery. The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) has supported standards-based educational reform in adult basic education (ABE) since 2003 by developing key resources for State administrators and policymakers, local program directors, and instructors. These include A Process Guide for Establishing Adult Education Content Standards and Standards-in-Action, a training program that supports the effective implementation of content standards in adult education. The purpose of this effort - Promoting College and Career-Ready Standards in ABEis to forge a stronger link between adult education, postsecondary education, and the world of work. It presents a starting point for raising awareness and understanding of the critical skills and knowledge expected by colleges, technical training programs, and employers in the twenty-first century for success in their institutions.

Overview

Promoting College and Career-Ready Standards has two goals:

To identify a set of college and career-readiness (CCR) standards in mathematics and English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjectsuseful to states and adult education programs as examples for developing or updating their state standards. For this purpose, the Common Core State Standards were used.

To examine the extent to which the selected college and career readiness standards align with the National Reporting System for Adult Education.
Four expert panels were convened to conduct the review processes, including representatives from ABE, community colleges, career/technical training organizations, business/industry, and the military. The project, which runs until July 2014, is being managed by MPR Associates, Inc.

Project Milestones

Identify a set of college and career readiness standards for adult education.

Review the alignment of the National Reporting System for Adult Education and selected college and career readiness standards for adult education.

Convene informational sessions at the national Meetings for State Directors of Adult Education.

Outcomes and Products

A reportCollege and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Educationthat provides:

A set of content standards reflecting broad agreement among experts about what is desirable for adult students to know to be prepared for the rigors of postsecondary education and training; and

A summary of the standards selection process, and a description of key content decisions made by expert panels to select college and career readiness standards for adult education.